


A Trader Joe

by joinmymisery



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Family, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-25
Updated: 2015-07-25
Packaged: 2018-04-11 02:42:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4417991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joinmymisery/pseuds/joinmymisery
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Yifan went to the grocery store he wasn't expecting to meet 3 small paint covered boys and their beautiful father.</p>
<p>c/p from AFF.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Trader Joe

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Caty here. 
> 
> This is my first published kpop fic. I posted a prompt on [ my tumblr](http://dizarren.tumblr.com/post/118831356678) a couple of months ago and then started writing the story myself because the idea wouldn't leave my head. I hope you all enjoy it! 
> 
> This is a YifanxJoonmyun story with kid!Tao, Jongin, and Sehun. Side baekchen and blink and you miss it chansoo.
> 
> Thanks so so much to Gabby for beta'ing!

“Okay boys,” Joonmyun says, turning around to face his three sons in the back seat. Three pairs of eyes stare back at him, blinking in sync. “I have a list of things to get and we’re not getting anything else, so don’t ask for anything, okay?”

The three boys nod, humming in agreement with their father. Joonmyun sighs and turns back around to take the key out of the ignition and exit the car, he knows he’ll have to say ‘no’ to each boy at least one time once they enter the grocery store. He usually tries to plan his grocery shopping between the boy’s activities and his work but his boss had wanted him to review something last minute and it had cut into his shopping time. He had only finished the review 15 minutes before he had to get the boys from school and there was no way he could have finished the weekly shop in that amount of time. Now he was stuck shopping with three paint covered boys, their dark hair streaked with a rainbow of colors. Of course this had to happen on finger painting day.

“Appa, can I ride in the basket?” His youngest, Sehun, asked as they were crossing the parking lot towards the entrance. He looked up at his father with hopeful eyes, his black bangs falling into his face. He had a streak of bright teal paint drying on his cheek, the color making his alabaster skin look even paler.

“No, Appa, can I ride in the basket?” Sehun’s twin, Jongin, asked. He looked up at his father with his pink lips in pout, his eyes resembling that of a puppy, his own black hair in a mess of curls on his head. He had a hot pink handprint on his cheek that looked surprisingly like his brother’s hand. Joonmyun shook his head at that; he’d need to give the boys a bath before dinner.

“We’re not getting a big basket, boys. We’re just coming in to get a few things so I’m getting the little basket. Can I trust you guys to not run away from me?” Joonmyun asked, reaching to get said little basket.

A chorus of “Of course, Appa!” greeted him and Joonmyun smiled at his boys. He passed out baby wipes to attempt to lessen the amount of paint on their hands. “Okay good, even though we cleaned your hands, we still don’t need to touch anything unless Appa says it’s alright, okay?” He was greeted with nods from the boys. “Taozi, do you still have the list I gave you in the car?”

Joonmyun’s oldest son nodded excitedly, showing the mentioned piece of paper to his father. He had a proud smile on his face, his piercing eyes shining. “Can I read the list to you, Appa? Miss Jang let me read in front of the whole class today and I want to show you how many words I can read now!”

“Of course you can, sweetheart.” Joonmyun smiled sweetly at his son, reaching out to ruffle his jet black hair. “What’s the first thing on the list?”

 

\------

 

“Ooh, Appa, can we get that green cereal?” Sehun asked in excitement, eyes widening at the large assortment of color cereals that adorned the walls. His tiny hands reached out to grab for the cereal only to be stopped when he saw the look his father shot his way.

“Sehunnie, what did I say in the car?” Joonmyun asked, this being the fifth time he’d had to say it to the boys.

“You told us not to ask for anything, but Appa, it comes with a glow in the dark spoon!” Sehun whined, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout.

Joonmyun sighed, reaching a hand up to run his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry Sehunnie, but we can’t get that cereal today. Do you want to help me get the cereal with the yellow box right there?” He pointed at the box of cereal they usually bought, it was considerably less colorful but it also had less sugar than the marshmallow filled one Sehun was asking for. “Remember to only touch the box we’re taking home.”

Sehun sighed, shoulders dropping in defeat. “Okay, Appa.” He made his way over to the cereal his father asked for and reached for it. He stretched onto his tippy toes in an attempt to reach it on the high shelf, but failed. A frown made its way onto his face when all of his attempts of reaching the cereal were in vain. His eyes brightened as he got an idea, thin lips stretching into a grin. “Taozi, come here!”

Tao looked up from where he was concentrating on the shopping list near the cart. “What do you want, Sehunnie? I’m trying to figure out what this says!”

“I thought you knew how to read,” Jongin said from where he was helping their dad pick out granola bars, his eyebrow disappearing under his black curls.

“I do know how to read!” Tao voiced in protest, reaching out a hand to hit his brother but dropping it when he realized his father was there. “At least I can read more than you! I bet you can’t even read ten words!”

Before Jongin could retort, Joonmyun set a stern look on both of the boys. “You two weren’t about to start arguing now, were you?”

“No, Appa.” The two replied, turning back to the activity they had both previously been doing. Tao made his way over to Sehun, curious to why he had called him.

“Hyung, can you help me get the cereal up there?” Sehun pointed up at the family sized box of cereal he was trying to get. Tao raised his eyes up to where Sehun’s hand was pointing, his own hand reaching up to stroke his chin in concentration. His eyes lit up the same way his brothers had minutes before, an idea prickling his brain.

“Okay, Sehunnie, get on my back and then we can reach it!” Tao crouched down as he said this in order for Sehun to get on his back. Sehun slid onto his back easily and Tao stood up, a triumphant grin on his face. “Can you reach it?”

Sehun attempted to reach the cereal now that he was a little taller but their combined effort seemed to be wasted when Sehun reached too far over Tao’s head and sent him off balance, resulting in the both of them tumbling into a display of gluten free fruit bars.

Tiny squeals brought Joonmyun out of his granola bar bubble with Jongin and he turned to see his other two sons sprawled out on the floor surrounded by boxes, grins on their faces and laughter escaping their lips. “I…oh my…boys, what happened?”

“I couldn’t reach…” Sehun’s words were intercepted with giggles. “I couldn’t reach the cereal so I climbed on Tao hyung’s back but-“

“-but I fell over and the boxes exploded, Appa!” Tao intersected, his laughter sending him into hiccups. “It was raining fruit bars!”

Joonmyun sighed for the millionth time it seemed, standing up to full height to walk over to the scene the two had caused, Jongin hot on his heels. “I need to clean this up,” he glanced at his watch, seeing that if he wanted to be home in enough time to be able to actually cook dinner they needed to leave the store in the next 10 minutes. “Can I trust you three to go to the next aisle and get milk?”

“Of course, Appa!” Jongin and Sehun chorused, already making their way towards the milk section.

“I’ll take care of the babies, Appa.” Tao said, sending a trusting grin to his father before he ran after his two siblings.

“Please stay together and come right back! Don’t stop to talk to anyone!” Joonmyun yelled after the boys, watching them turn the corner. He shook his head and turned back around to start cleaning up the mess the boys had made.

 

\-----

 

Yifan glanced between his right and left hand, in his right he had a red pepper and in his left he had a yellow. He didn’t actually know the difference but he knew that the recipe his sister had sent him required bell peppers. He sighed and decided to just get both, it wasn’t like they were that expensive anyway. He turned around to place the peppers in a plastic bag to place in the cart when he came face to face with a little boy with messy hair. Well, face to knee cap, this boy was  _tiny._

“Mister, how did you get so tall?” The little boy asked, head knocking to the side and eyebrows raised in question. Yifan wondered if it would still be cute if said boy didn’t have streaks of paint on his face, his pale skin decorated in a mosaic of colors.

“Umm…” Yifan responded, glancing around for the child’s parents. He was met with the sight with two similar looking, paint covered boys staring at him from in front of the carrots, the taller of the two holding a carrot like a sword. His lips furrowed.

“Are you going to answer our brother?” The bigger one asked, taking a step forward. He had sharp intimidating eyes and was towering over his two brothers.

“Yeah,” The smaller one added, walking up to his brother and staring up. This one had sleepy eyes and slightly curly hair. “We just want to be tall too.”

“I…I listened to my parents? Ate vegetables?” Yifan paused, searching his brain for the right thing to say. “I took a lot of naps?”

The tiny boy in front of him frowned at that and turned to his brother. “Hyung, you told us naps were for babies.”

“Naps  _are_ for babies!” The tallest one protested, shooting a glare at Yifan. “Don’t listen to this old man, Sehunnie, he’s lying to you.”

The tiny one, Sehun apparently, looked up at Yifan with a hurt expression on his face. “You lied to me, mister?” His bottom lip popped out, his eyes beginning to water.

Yifan acted quickly, reaching out to pat the young boys head but regretting it when he was met with gloopy paint in the otherwise soft hair. “Of course I didn’t lie! I just meant I took a lot of naps….at night…like when you sleep at night? I took naps?” He tried, voice slightly rising in pitch in attempt to keep the child from crying.

“That’s really dumb,” the sleepy looking one says with a straight face. “You’re supposed to sleep at night.”

Yifan sighed, reaching up to run a hand through his hair, where were these kids parents?

“Wow, Tao hyung, look at his hands! They’re even bigger than Uncle Chanyeol’s!” Sehun exclaimed, eyes widening as he stepped even closer to Yifan, reaching up to pull at the man’s sleeve in order to see his hands up close. Yifan tried not to outwardly cringe at the paint splatters on the child’s hand that now patterned his suit.

“You’re right, Sehunnie! Jonginnie, come look at his hands.” The biggest one, Tao, Yifan had gathered, beckoned over the other one as he himself walked up to pull at Yifan’s other arm. Yeah, there were definitely going to be tiny multi-colored hand prints on his Armani suit.

The next thing Yifan knew, all three boys were attempting to climb up towards him to peak at his hands, comparing them to the size of their faces and their own hands. He looked around again for the children’s parents but came up with zilch when all he saw were a few old ladies, none of them paying him any attention.

“Ummm,” Yifan tried, clearing his throat to get the boys attention. “Not that I’m not enjoying this but, where are your parents?”

The sleepy looking one, Jongin if Yifan remembered correctly, looked up from admiring the rings on his hand. “Appa told us to go get milk while he cleaned up our mess with the cereal, Mister….” Jongin trailed off, tilting his head to the side when he realized he didn’t know the man’s name. “What’s your name, mister?”

“Yifan.” Yifan responded quickly. “You’re only here with your appa?”

“I’m Jongin!” The boy replied, face splitting into a grin. He pointed a thumb toward the smallest boy. “That’s my twin brother, Sehunnie.” He pointed another thumb at the tallest boy. “That’s our hyung, Tao. His name is Zitao but he doesn’t like that name.”

“Zitao?” Yifan questioned. “Are you boys Chinese?”

All three boys shook their heads. “We’re Korean, K O R E A N.” The tallest boy replied, spelling out the word with a triumphant grin. “I learned how to spell that word today, Mr. Yifan!”

Yifan smiled slightly at that, what a cute group of kids. But where was their dad? “Won’t your Appa be worried that you guys are taking so long to get milk?”

“Nope, Appa only worries when he’s going on dates.” The smallest supplied, grinning victoriously when he successfully pulled one of Yifan’s rings off his fingers and placed it on his own.

“I see, I still think you should go back to him. We don’t want him to think you all ran away.” Yifan tried again, trying to pull his hand back to no avail.

“Nuh-uh, we tried that once when we didn’t like Appa’s boyfriend, but he knew where we were the whole time. Did you know Appa’s always know what you’re doing?”

Yifan chuckled lightly at that, these kids really were cute. “I did know that, actually. They’re kind of like Santa Claus, huh? They see you when you’re sleeping, know when you’re awake…” Yifan trailed off when he saw the children’s eyes widen in excitement and before he knew what was happening they were singing the Christmas carol, oh shit, okay he really needed to find their dad. Little paint covered hands were touching all over his suit in attempt to make him dance, and yep, he definitely had to get this cleaned now.

“Zitao! Jongin! Sehun!” A frantic voice called out and Yifan sighed in relief. Finally. Now he could leave and make the stupid pasta dish his sister wanted him to try and…wow. His eyes slightly widened as he took in the man’s face. Firstly, he looked far too young to be a dad of 3. Secondly, he was cute. Like, really cute. His chestnut bangs fell across his forehead, slightly displaced from what Yifan could only assume was constant running of fingers through it. He had faint bags under his eyes but it didn’t hinder his appearance in anyway. He was wearing a light blue sweater that looked soft, slightly oversized for comfort and he had on a pair of dark washed skinny jeans that hugged his legs in all the right ways. There was no way this man could be a father of these three excitable boys and still look like that. He must be their older brother or something.

“Appa!” The kids detached themselves from Yifan to run over to their father. Okay, maybe he was their father.

“Appa, look, Mr. Yifan is really tall and has really big hands. Did you know that if you eat yucky vegetables you’ll grow really tall?” Sehun said excitedly, reaching his arms up for his dad to lift him.

The man granted the boy’s wish, reaching down to pick him up, placing a kiss on his forehead. “You all scared me half to death when I couldn’t find you in the dairy section. I thought I told you to get milk and come right back?”

“We were, Appa, but then Sehunnie saw this really tall man. Appa, he’s even taller than Uncle Chanyeol!” Jongin exclaimed, attaching himself to his father’s side as Tao did the same on the other side.

At Jongin’s words, the father finally looked up, eyes meeting Yifan’s. A flush made its way across his cheeks when he took a look at the man’s handsome face, taking in all the sharp angles. His dyed blonde hair was styled perfectly, despite it being so late in the day. “I’m so sorry about them, I never bring them to the store so they got really excited.” The man bowed, well attempted to since he really couldn’t bow with three small children attached to him.

“Not a problem at all,” Yifan replied, sending a charming grin the other man’s way, causing his blush to deepen. He brought a hand up for the father to shake, “Wu Yifan, and you are?”

“Kim Joonmyun,” Joonmyun shook his hand free from Jongin’s hold, firmly taking Yifan’s hands into a shake. The boys were right, his hands were huge. “I’m so sorry about them, again, I hope they didn’t cause you any trouble.”

“Like I said, no trouble at all. Plus, if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet someone as beautiful as you.”

Joonmyun flushed impossibly deeper at his comment, a small smile making his way across his face. Sehun reached a hand up to caress his father’s cheeks, feeling how warm they were. “Appa, are you okay?” He brought his other hand up to Joonmyun’s other cheek to smush them together, making his lips pucker out. “Here’s I’ll kiss it better.” He leaned forward and pressed a wet sloppy kiss on his father’s lips. “All better!”

Joonmyun smiled fondly at his son, returning Sehun’s kiss with one on his cheek. “Thank you, Sehunnie, Appa’s all better now.” He turned back to Yifan. “I’m sorry again, we’ll get out of your hair now…” He stopped suddenly, face paling at the handprints on the man’s perfectly fitted suit. “Oh no, your suit!”

Yifan looked down, suddenly remembering the fact that he had 3 different sets of tiny multicolored handprints on his suit. He looked back up at the man, shaking his head as he saw the man begin to panic. “No, no worries, it’s fine!”

“It’s not fine!” Joonmyun exclaimed, placing Sehun on the ground next to his brothers. “This looks expensive, please let me get it cleaned for you.”

“Joonmyun, really, it’s fine.” Yifan reached out a hand to stop Joonmyun from reaching into his wallet. “This suit isn’t that expensive anyway.”

Joonmyun sent an incredulous look his way at that comment; he knew that suit had to cost at least the paycheck for two reviews. “Fine, then let me make it up to you somehow. I could pay for your groceries?”

Yifan glanced down at his almost empty basket, he only had the 2 peppers, cheese, and pasta. Joonmyun seemed to notice that his basket was mostly empty as well.

“Okay, maybe not just your groceries, do you have any other suggestions?”

“You could go out on a date with me,” Yifan blurted out, immediately regretting it when he remembered that the man’s sons were there. The three said boys scrunched their nose up at this.

Joonmyun’s flush returned to his cheeks, this time deeper. He actually couldn’t believe that this handsome man was asking him out? He didn’t consider himself ugly or anything but most handsome men didn’t want to date a father of 3 young boys. “I…uh…I…”

“Appa, don’t stutter, no one can understand you when you do that.” Tao said, shaking his head at his father.

“Yeah, Appa, when people ask you questions you’re supposed to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’,” Jongin added.

“Appa wants to say yes. When his face gets like that, it means he likes something,” Sehun told Yifan. “He must really like you Mr. Yifan because he’s as red as my Spiderman costume.”

“Sehun!” Joonmyun scolded, moving a hand over his mouth. “I, okay, yeah, that’s fine? Are you sure about that?”

“Of course I am. I usually don’t go around asking people out in front of their children, but you’re too beautiful to not ask.” Yifan sent another smile at Joonmyun, gums on display.

If Joonmyun could, he’d blush deeper. “I, okay, yeah, okay. Here’s my phone.” He handed said device to Yifan. “Put your number in and we can discuss details later? I really need to get them home and fed.”

 

\------

 

Yifan and Joonmyun exchanged texts here and there over the course of the next few weeks, their schedules not allowing them to meet up. Joonmyun needed to plan at least three days in advance so he could arrange a babysitter for the boys but Yifan’s job was unpredictable and he never knew what nights he’d be free. They finally settled on a date a Friday one month after they met. Yifan had taken the whole day off so none of his meetings would run long and Joonmyun had arranged for the boys to go over his friend’s house and sleep over so he wouldn’t have to worry about getting home early to relieve the babysitter.

 Everything should go perfectly.

 

\------

 

When the Friday actually arrived, neither man could contain their excitement. Joonmyun woke up before his children for once, at six am, thirty minutes prior than when Jongin and Sehun usually barged into his room to request to sleep with him in his bed for another thirty minutes.

He peeked into the twin’s room to see them both still sleeping in their super hero pajamas—Jongin was Iron Man and Sehun was Captain America.  He closed the door quietly behind him and made his way across the hall to Tao’s room, finding said boy sprawled across his bed with one leg free from the blankets. His hand clutched a stuffed panda and his black hair was messily splayed across his pillow. His usually strong features were relaxed in his sleep and Joonmyun couldn’t help but lean down and press a kiss to each of his eyelids. Tao’s eyelashes fluttered and his nose scrunched up at Joonmyun’s disturbance but they soon relaxed again as the boy rolled back over.

Joonmyun exited out of the room as quietly as he entered and made his way down stairs to start breakfast. He’d usually try to sleep in as much as he could but he was too excited to sleep. The boys usually ate cereal or rice in the mornings on weekdays since they were usually pressed for time but since Joonmyun was up a half hour earlier than usual, he decided he’d make them pancakes. But first he had to make their lunches.

Joonmyun’s usual routine of making their lunches consisted of him making identical sandwiches and grabbing prepackaged vegetables, fruits, and cheese. And on Friday’s, Joonmyun would always give them each a special treat. Today was no different and Joonmyun finished their lunches in less than 10 minutes, stuffing their bento boxes in their lunch bags along with their water bottles and a leftover brownie from dessert the day before. He even had time to write them notes. Well, Tao’s was the only one with an actual note since he’s the only one who could read but he doodled Sehun and Jongin each a tiny comic version of their family with ‘I [heart] U’ written on the top.

As soon as the pancakes were done and the fruit was washed and cut up, Joonmyun made his way back up the stairs to wake up his boys. He raised his eyebrows in confusion when he found all three of his sons beds empty. He walked towards his own room when he noticed the door was pushed open and found all three of his sons sleeping in his bed. Sehun was in the center of his two brothers, his little hands wrapped around their shoulders, pajama sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Jongin was to the right of his twin, his fist clutching the comforter that was pulled over all three boys. Tao had both of his arms wrapped protectively around his little brothers. Joonmyun quickly reached for his phone on his bedside table so he could take a picture, smiling at the result. He sent the picture to his parents and set it as his phone background before he reached down to wake up the boys.

“Tao-ah,” Joonmyun said, hands reaching out to run his fingers through his oldest son’s hair. “It’s time to get up, sweetheart, I made your favorite for breakfast.”

Tao’s eyelids fluttered open at his father’s calling, his arms detaching himself from where they were holding onto his brothers. The twins immediately curled into each other when their brother pulled away, attempting to cling onto the warmth that accompanied their sleep.

“You made chocolate chip pancakes, Appa? Is it Saturday?” Tao asked sleepily, he reached a fist up to rub at his left eye.

“It’s not Saturday but I did make pancakes,” Joonmyun confirmed, picking the boy up from the bed. He kissed him on the forehead and adjusted his weight, slightly struggling because his baby wasn’t really a baby anymore. “And I gave you a special treat in your lunch.”

“Oooh, Appa, what is it?” Tao questioned his dad, a happy grin stretching across his face.

“You’ll just have to wait and see, now won’t you?” Joonmyun grinned, setting the boy down on the ground. “Today is Friday so that means you can dress down. Do you want me to pick out your clothes or can you do it?”

“I can do it, Appa! I’m a big boy, I can dress myself!” Tao said, puffing his chest out and grinning up at his dad.

“Okay, go get dressed and brush your teeth quickly. We don’t want your food to get too cold.”

Tao nodded and raced out the room to get dressed. Joonmyun turned back towards the bed to see that the twins had wiggled their way down into the middle of the bed, their bodies being hidden by the comforter. The lump in the middle of the bed was moving so Joonmyun knew they were awake.

“Now where did my babies go? Do I need to call Batman to help me come find them?” Joonmyun questioned, feigning ignorance. “I guess me and Tao will have to eat all the pancakes by ourselves then.” Joonmyun heard the boys try to stifle their giggles. “And all the blueberries and strawberries.” He added as an afterthought, knowing that the mention of the boys favorite fruits would make them appear.

The lump in the bed quickly disappeared as boys made their way to the edge of the bed to pop their heads out. “We’re right here, Appa!” Sehun shouted, his head appearing from the navy blue comforter first. His straight black hair was messy and his bangs displaced and sticking up.

“Don’t give our food to Tao! But please call Batman, he can have breakfast with us.” Jongin’s head appeared at the foot of the bed, his curly hair resembling a birds nest.

“Yeah, Appa, Batman likes pancakes too.” Sehun added.

“Good morning, babies. Did you sleep well?” Joonmyun pulled Jongin from the bed and tickled him under his chin, causing the tanned boy to squirm. Both boys nodded at his question and Sehun crawled down the bed to join his dad and brother.

“Appa, is Batman really coming?” Jongin asked when Joonmyun sat him on the floor.

“No, baby, he’s not coming today. But you’re going to your uncle’s tonight and I bet if you’re good all day they’ll let you watch your Batman DVD.”

“What if I’m a good boy, Appa? Will Batman come if I’m a good boy?” Sehun asked, reaching his arms up for his dad to take him off the bed.

Joonmyun fulfilled his request and placed a kiss on both of his cheeks when Sehun presented each cheek to him. “I’m not sure, but you’re going to be a good boy just in case, right?” Sehun nodded, smiling at his dad.

“Appa, am I a good boy even if I potty in my pants?” Jongin asked, pulling on the leg of Joonmyun’s pajama pants. Joonmyun quickly looked down at the boy and tried not to outwardly groan when he noticed that Jongin had indeed wet his pants. Well, there goes his perfect morning.

 

\------

 

After bathing Jongin (and by relation Sehun because he thought if his brother could pee his pants, so could he and he proceeded to prove this by doing so while his father was holding him), he got them dressed and found Tao sitting at the table by himself, waiting for the others to arrive so he could start eating.

He had to warm up the pancakes in microwave (something Joonmyun only had for when he was in a pinch) and he only had 20 minutes to get showered and dressed while the boys ate their breakfast. He rushed through his shower since he hated leaving the boys unattended, especially when they were eating even though they were old enough to know how to chew and not choke on their food. He threw on whatever clothes he could find that seemed clean and got back down stairs just in time to see the boys finishing their food.

Joonmyun checked the time and realized that they had five minutes to get out of the house and leave or they’d be late.  _Fuck_. Okay, rush mode activated. He told each boy to put on their shoes and gave each boy a task. Tao needed to get jackets, Jongin would get lunch bags, and Sehun would get backpacks. While they were doing this, Joonmyun cleared the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher and rushed through the house to make sure all the lights were off.

Thankfully, by the time he was done, all three boys were ready to go and okay, maybe this morning wasn’t perfect but it was all worth it when he got his kisses and ‘love you’s’ when he dropped the boys off for school.

 

\------

 

When Joonmyun returned home, the first thing he did was check his email to make sure he had nothing sitting in his inbox from his boss. He finished his work for the week yesterday so nothing would interfere with his date but his boss was one who loved to throw him last minute projects despite the fact that he knew he had 3 young boys. Thankfully, there were no emails from his boss which made the man sigh in relief.

Joonmyun checked the time and saw that it was only nine am and he had six hours to kill before he had to head to pick the kids up from school. He contemplated what needed to be done and came up short. He had gone grocery shopping the day prior (this time without the kids) and the house was relatively clean. He might as well sneak in a short nap since he woke up early this morning. It was times like these when he enjoyed the fact that he worked from home. Whenever his projects were finished, he had extra time to spend with his kids. He couldn’t get that with an office job.

Joonmyun was about to lay down for a nap when he realized that his bed was a mess from the twins accident earlier. Okay, maybe he couldn’t have a peaceful time until he had to pick the boys up from school.

 

\------

 

Joonmyun didn’t actually end up taking his nap until three hours before he had to pick the boys up which led to him sleeping through the mass emails his boss sent him about correcting some last minute articles for the next morning’s blog posts. And editing those set him back a good hour so he ended running late to pick the boys up from school.

Luckily, all of the moms at the boy’s school knew him so they watched the three on the playground while he was on his way. This was both a good and bad thing he realized when he arrived and was met with endless teasing because Jongin had told one of the moms that his dad had a date which led to all the moms knowing and yeah, he definitely didn’t make it out of the school parking lot in under 15 minutes as he had hoped.

 

\-----

 

“Appa, can we get ice cream?” Sehun asked once they were settled in the car and on the way home. Joonmyun glanced in the rearview mirror to look at Sehun in the backseat. Said boy was currently concentrated on a book, attempting to read it. Joonmyun didn’t have the heart to tell him the book was upside down.

“Not today, Sehun. Appa needs to get you boys home, changed, and packed so you can get to your uncles’ house.” Joonmyun could feel Sehun’s bottom lip jut out at the news and his suspicions were confirmed when he looked back when they were stopped at a stop light.

“But Appa, you’re leaving us tonight!” Jongin protested, his lip jutting out to match his brothers. Joonmyun had thought that his middle son had fallen asleep since he hadn’t heard anything from him since they got in the car.

“Jongin, you know that’s not fair.”

“It is fair, Appa! You’re leaving us, so we should get ice cream.” Tao said matter-of-factly, looking up from his reading tablet.

“No ice cream, you already had brownies for lunch and I bet your uncles are planning on stuffing you with sugar tonight too.” Joonmyun was met with protests from all three boys and he sighed. “How about I’ll let each of you pick a song for us to listen to?” The excited squeals he was met with let Joonmyun know the boys were happy with this compromise.

 

\------

 

“Appa, can I take my Iron Man to Uncle Chanyeol’s?”

“It’s not just Uncle Chanyeol’s house, Tao! It’s Uncle Chanyeol’s, Uncle Baekhyun’s, Uncle Jongdae’s, and Uncle Kyungsoo’s!”

“That’s too many names to say, Sehun!”

“You’re too many names to say, Hyung!”

Joonmyun checked the clock and sighed, there was no way he was going to be on time to his date.

 

\------

 

When Joonmyun had realized he wouldn’t have enough time to get ready and then take the boys to their uncles’ house on the other side of town and then make it to the restaurant to meet Yifan in time, he had called Jongdae in a panic, asking if he could come pick up the boys. Baekhyun had tagged along to help him pick out what to wear.

When the two had first arrived, they found the house in chaos, a common site considering three young boys lived there and their father wasn’t the cleanest person himself. They were greeted by Jongin screeching at his older brother to give him back his Legos and Sehun standing in the middle trying to decide who to be loyal to. Their father was nowhere in sight.

Jongdae had immediately made his way over to the boys to mediate the situation because Sehun looked like he was about to cry and Baekhyun made his way up the stairs knowing that the only reason Joonmyun wasn’t down stairs stop the boys from fighting was because he was stressing out in his room on his own.

Half an hour later, the boys were all packed and happy, wrestling with Baekhyun and Jongdae in the living room and Joonmyun was putting the finishing touches on his hair in his room. When he finally made his way down the stairs, he cleared his throat, causing the five males in the room to turn in his direction.

“Wow, Appa, you look so pretty!” Jongin exclaimed, he got up from where he was seated on Jongdae’s head and ran to his dad to hug his leg. Sehun proceeded to do the same to his other leg and Tao walked over hesitantly.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Joonmyun asked, crouching down to Tao’s level. Sehun and Jongin’s arms came to rest around his neck when he was down far enough that they could reach.

“Nothing. Appa,” He paused and took a deep breath. “Appa, since I’m a big boy now I need to help out with responsibilities. That’s what happens in the movies anyway. So Appa, you need to be on your best behavior, okay? Be nice and don’t let Mr. Yifan be mean to you. Eat all your vegetables even though they’re yucky. And….and… wait what else do you tell us?” Tao brings a finger up to his chin to think. “Oh! And always eat all your food or you won’t get dessert.”

Joonmyun grinned brightly at this, his eyes crinkling at how cute his oldest son was. “Thank you so much, Tao-ah!” He pulled the oldest into him to join the hug that the twins had forced upon him. He stood up when they pulled away from him. He turned toward the two older men in the room, smiling when he sees the smiles on their face.

“Look at our little boy, Baekkie,” Jongdae says, wiping a fake tear from his eye. “He’s all grown up!” He walks up behind Baekhyun and wraps his arms around his waist, placing his head on Baekhyun’s shoulder.

“I know, it’s just like yesterday when we dropped him off at primary school.” Baekhyun brings his hands down to rest on top of Jongdae’s. “Let’s have another.”

Jongdae laughs and turns his head to kiss Baekhyun’s cheek, pulling a laugh out of the other boy. Joonmyun rolls his eyes at the two but smiles nonetheless. “Thanks for coming to pick them up guys, and thanks for watching them tonight. I’ll come pick them up in the morning at around nine, if that’s okay.”

“It’s no problem at all, hyung. I love having my nephews at my house and they have a great time, isn’t that right boys?” Jongdae said, grinning at the three boys. They nodded happily at him in reply.

“And don’t worry about coming to get them, who knows, you might have company in the morning.” Baekhyun winked, giggling. “We’ll take them to the zoo tomorrow and bring them back.”

Joonmyun rolled his eyes at the boy, a faint red coloring his cheeks. “Whatever,” He handed each of his boys their backpacks. “They have pajamas and clothes for tomorrow in their bags, as well as their stuffed animals and some DVDs. They had baths this morning so don’t worry about giving them one tonight, unless they get dirty to the point where they need one. I gave them a snack about an hour ago but they’ll probably be hungry again and ask for snacks but don’t give them any or they won’t eat their dinner. Bed time is at 8:30, since it’s the weekend, but the later they go to bed, the later they’ll sleep in but don’t let them stay up past 10. Sehun doesn’t like meat right now but Jongin will eat it so just give Sehun’s portion to him, make sure you make him eat a little bit though. I think that’s it.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why you act like we haven’t known them their whole lives, hyung.”

“Yeah, it’s not like they’re my nephews or anything.” Jongdae reached down to pick up Jongin, placing a kiss on his cheek when he was seated on his hip. “Are you guys ready to go?”

All three boys nodded and Sehun reached up to Baekhyun, asking to be picked up. Tao walked over to his dad and hugged him, accepting the kiss that was placed on his forehead.

“Alright, be good boys. I love you and if you need anything, just call me, okay?” Joonmyun placed a kiss on the twins foreheads.

“Wow, we don’t get a kiss? Way harsh, hyung, I thought you loved us.” Jongdae pouted.

“You’re ridiculous.” Joonmyun chuckled, shaking his head. He kissed the two on their foreheads. “Call me if anything goes wrong, okay?”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes at that, walking towards the door with Sehun in his arms and Tao’s hand in his. “Could you please stop worrying? We’ll be going now. Love you, hyung! Have fun on your date!”

“Love you, don’t you dare call us, we won’t answer. Have fun, I want to hear all about it when we drop them off tomorrow.” Jongdae added.

“Thank you so much again, guys!” Joonmyun shouted out the door as they left. The boys blew kisses from their car seats and he smiled. He could finally, _finally,_  leave for his date.

 

\-----

 

Since Baekhyun and Jongdae picked up the boys, Joonmyun actually had arrived to the restaurant he was meeting Yifan at ten minutes early. Since he had three small boys, he was hardly ever early to things (usually he wasn’t early purposely, entertaining kids was hard if it was only for a couple of minutes.) so he really had no idea how to entertain himself. He sighed and pulled down his sun visor to check his appearance. He didn’t want to go into the restaurant so he wouldn’t want too eager but if Yifan discovered him sitting here would he think he had gotten cold feet? Joonmyun frowned, it really  _had_  been a long time since he went on a date.

He could text his brother and ask him proper etiquette but Jongdae had been dating Baekhyun since high school so he probably wouldn’t be able to answer his questions very well.  He could text Chanyeol, but he’d probably tell him something like  _suck his dick before the date, hyung, guys love that!_ and Joonmyun didn’t want to deal with that. His only option was Kyungsoo. At least he wouldn’t make fun of him, at least to his face.

**To:**  My Favorite Dongsaeng

_Soo, I have a question. I’m ten minutes early to my date and I don’t know what I should do. Should I walk in and wait for him? Or just stay in my car? Should I stand outside the restaurant and wait? Should I text him and tell him I’m here? Soo, help._

The reply came almost instantly in the form of a call.

“Hello?” Joonmyun said into the phone.

“ _Hyung, you’re so lame. Are you sure you’re 27 and not 50_?” Chanyeol’s voice boomed loudly through the receiver, he could hear Kyungsoo yelling for Chanyeol to give him is phone back, but knowing Chanyeol he had stood up and reached his arms up so Kyungsoo couldn’t reach.

“Umm, can I talk to Kyungsoo? Not that I don’t want your advice, but I really want this date to go well.”

_“Hyung, that’s so rude, it’s not my fault you never do my advice right! It wasn’t my fault that you take everything I say literally. Haha, remember that time you-“_ Whatever Chanyeol was saying was cut off but him groaning in pain, he could only assume Kyungsoo had gained his phone back.

_“Sorry about that, Joonmyun-hyung. I’ll deal with him later. Do you know what Yifan’s car looks like?_ ” Kyungsoo asked, Joonmyun heard Chanyeol’s groans becoming fainter so he could only assume that Kyungsoo was leaving Chanyeol to suffer on his own.

“No, I don’t. I’ve only met him once, you know that!”

“ _Didn’t you tell me that Sehun pointed him out in the parking lot when you guys were leaving the grocery store?”_

“Oh right! That’s right, he was getting into a black Mercedes.” Joonmyun glanced around the parking lot to look for said vehicle only to notice that there were about five black Mercedes’ in the parking lot. He suddenly felt out of place in his reliable and comfortable SUV. “There’s 5 of those here, Soo, I don’t know if one of them is his.”

“ _Oh…okay, just stay in the car until three minutes before you’re supposed to be there and then go in. This way you won’t look creepy staring in the parking lot looking for him. Meditate or something, you probably need to_.” He heard Kyungsoo let out a squeal. “ _Have fun, hyung. Do as I say, love you, talk to you later_!”

Joonmyun frowned as the line went dead, he could only assume that Chanyeol had come to seek revenge. He had a fleeting thought of where the boys were while this took place but then remembered that he heard Jongdae talking about taking the boys to a movie. He sighed and closed his eyes like Kyungsoo had suggested, deciding to meditate for a couple of moments.

He had to admit he was pretty nervous, this was the first date he’d been on in about a year and a half. What if Yifan thought he was boring? What if he thought his life wasn’t worth the drama of dating because of the boys? What if the boys ended up not liking the tall man with the funny eyebrows they’ve been asking him about?

Joonmyun was brought out of his thoughts when there was a tap on the window. He jumped and let out a tiny shriek, turning his head to see who had knocked on his window. He saw Yifan standing on the other side, looking even more handsome then when he saw him in the grocery store that day.

Yifan grinned at him when he opened the door to get, reaching up to pull his expensive looking sunglasses off his face. “Hey, didn’t mean to startle you, I was just letting you know I was here. Hope you weren’t waiting long.”

“It’s my fault! I was early so I was just waiting here until you arrived.” Joonmyun responded, turning towards Yifan to take in his full appearance. His dark hair had been styled so it was off his forehead, coiffed to the side. He was wearing dark tight fitting skinny jeans and a burgundy button up shirt. The top two buttons of the shirt were unbuttoned and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. Joonmyun shot a quick glance downwards at his own appearance and suddenly felt simultaneously under dressed and overdressed, even though he and Yifan were essentially wearing the same thing. When he asked Yifan about the dress code, he told him dressy casual. Joonmyun thought this meant no suits but still slacks and a tie.

“You look beautiful,” Yifan’s voice broke through Joonmyun’s internal battle. “I am so lucky you’re choosing to spend your evening with me.”

Joonmyun blushed at his words, a small smile adoring his lips. “Thank you, you look great too.”

Before they could slip into awkward silence, Yifan led Joonmyun towards the door with a hand on the small of his back. Joonmyun could smell Yifan’s cologne from their close proximity and there was something very comforting about the scent, it made him want to bury his face in his chest. Joonmyun’s cheeks flushed as the thought crossed his mind but luckily they had just arrived at their table so he didn’t have time to dwell on the thought too much.

After ordering drinks and Yifan ordering entrees for the both of them, Joonmyun watched in awe as Yifan took care of almost everything, he seemed to have a lot of practice in this. Joonmyun felt as if he didn’t fit into the shell of the type of date Yifan was used to.

These thoughts flew out the window when Yifan proceeded to knock over his water cup as soon as the waiter placed it on the table, effectively killing his cool image. Joonmyun stifled a laugh behind his hand at Yifan’s crestfallen face, as if everything he worked for came crashing down in the two seconds it took for the glass to fall.

“There goes my first impression, huh?” Yifan stated, eyes locking with Joonmyun’s over the table, a faint red brushing at his cheeks.

“Well, this techincially isn’t a first impression, my first impression of you was this attractive man who was reacting relatively well to having my kids climb all over him covered in paint while he was wearing a super expensive suit.” Joonmyun replied.

“Ah, you thought I was attractive at first sight?” Yifan teased, raising an eyebrow. He chuckled at the blush that rose on Joonmyun’s face once he realized what he said. “You look really cute when you blush, good thing you do it a lot.”

Joonmyun’s blush deepened at this. He reached for his own water cup as a distraction, paying special attention to it in order not to spill it. “So, Yifan, tell me about yourself.”

“What do you wanna know?” Yifan cocked his head to the side.

“Anything you want to tell me. All I know about you now is that your name is Yifan, which leads me to believe you’re either part Chinese or full Chinese and that you don’t cook often.”

“How do you know I don’t cook often?”

“I could tell by what you were buying. It looked like you were buying things specifically for a recipe.”

“You’re right, on both accounts.” Yifan confirmed Joonmyun’s suspicions, smiling at his observation. “Firstly, I’m full Chinese. Both of my parents are from China. Secondly, I don’t cook often, I’m actually a terrible cook. My mom has been pestering me about not being able to find a partner if I can’t cook so my sister sends me recipes once a week to try out. That was actually the first recipe I was trying out since it was the first time I had time. Seems like fate that the one day I was at the store was also the day you were, doesn’t it?”

Joonmyun smiled back. “I guess it was. Is your sister the only sibling you have?”

“Yeah, it’s just me, my sister, my mum, and dad. I’m actually the only one here in Korea. My parents are back home in China and my sister’s in Canada.”

“Canada? That’s quite a ways away. It must be hard being in this country all by yourself. ”

“Yeah, it is pretty far, isn’t it? But with modern technology, it doesn’t seem that far at all. I admit it was pretty hard at first, getting used to being so far away from her. When I was younger and our whole family lived in Canada, it was super hard on my mom to be so far away from her parents in China. My dad’s parents came to Canada with us so it wasn’t too hard on him. My mom used to make trips back to China once every couple of months when I was a kid.”

“What made your parents move back to China?”

“Well, it was actually only a plan for us to be in Canada for a couple years while my dad worked on the expansion of his company, but he ended up loving it so much that we settled there for over 10 years. Unfortunately, my mom’s mother got sick so mom wanted to move back to take care of her. By that time, my sister was a senior in high school and I was a sophomore. My dad didn’t want to uproot us since we were both close to being done so he offered to stay with us in Canada while my mom moved back to take care of my grandma. The arrangement worked out pretty well and my sister moved to be with my mom as soon as she graduated high school so it was just me and my dad for a little over a year.

Once I graduated high school, grandma had gotten worst so dad wanted to move back, to go and support mom, so my sister moved back to Canada so we could live together while both of us went to university. Eventually, she ended up graduating and settling down there with her now husband and went on to have two kids. I felt like I was intruding on her life once she told me she was pregnant with her second kid, so I took my dad up on his offer to take over the company expansion here and moved half way across the world.”

Yifan paused his story once he realized how much he’d been talking. He was about to apologize for talking so much when Joonmyun smiled at him to continue, seeming to be interested in the story.

“It was hard at first,” Yifan continued, going back to his original comment.  “Especially since I had never lived on my own before, let alone been to Korea before. My mother was super against the idea at first, she wanted me to come to China and live with them, but I figured it was about time I figured out my life on my own, y’know? I was 23 at the time and had never been on my own before, it was time for me to spread my wings. I had my doubts when I first arrived here, I barely knew the language, the culture was so vastly different from what I was used to. I swear I looked at plane tickets to China every single day for the first 3 months I was here, ” he chuckled at the memory. “But now, 5 years later, I can confidently say I made the right decision.”

“That’s so incredibly fearless of you. If I were you, I definitely would have moved back within the first month. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have even made it here to begin with.” Joonmyun said, his stare expressing the awe he had of the situation.

“I actually had made it to the airport once, but my flight got delayed. I like to believe that the delaying of the flight was a sign for me to stay here.”

Before Joonmyun could respond, the waiter arrived with their food. After thanking the waiter, they dug into their food, the first few moments filled with a comfortable silence as they ate.

“This is delicious!” Joonmyun exclaimed, “I never would have thought to order this myself.”

“It’s one of my favorites,” Yifan admitted. “I’m glad you like it.”

Once they passed the initial phase of eating, Yifan started up the conversation again. “So, Joonmyun, tell me about you.”

“Umm,” Joonmyun started, he reached for his glass of wine to take a sip before starting. “My name is Kim Joonmyun, I’m 27 years old. I’m an editor who works from home. I have 3 sons, Zitao, Jongin, and Sehun. My favorite color is blue. My little brother, Jongdae, is the only family I have with me here in the city. And, uh, I guess that’s it.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how old are the boys?”

“Zitao is just turned 6 a couple of months ago, in July. And the twins are 18 months younger than him at 3 and a half.”

“Are you part Chinese as well? I’m just asking because of Zitao’s name. I asked him about it when I met him but he told me you all were Korean.”

“No, I’m full Korean. The boys’ mother was Chinese.”

“Ah,” Yifan said, in understanding. “That makes sense.” He was tempted to ask what happened to the boys’ mother but knew it wasn’t his place.

“You’re curious about the boys’ mother, aren’t you?”

“I am, but it’s not my place to ask.”

Joonmyun opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted when the waiter arrived to clear off their table.

“Do you all wish to order to dessert?” The waiter asked.

Yifan looked over at Joonmyun to see if he wanted to and received a shake of his head in return. “No, we’re fine, could I get the check, please?”

“Is this all on one check?”

Both Joonmyun and Yifan responded with a yes, and the waiter walked away.

“Let me pay, Yifan. Think of it as me paying for the boys messing up your suit.”

“No, Joonmyun. I asked you on this date, let me pay.” Yifan shook his head, frowning. “Did you only come on this date because of my messed up suit?”

“I…” Joonmyun started, the corner of his lips twitching upwards slightly at the adorable pout on Yifan’s face. “At first, yes. While I thought you were attractive when I first saw you, I’m not usually one to date. But now, I’m glad I accepted your offer.”

Yifan’s pout quickly turned into a goofy grin, his eyes brightening to accompany his smile. While Yifan was distracted by smiling at Joonmyun, Joonmyun took out his card and quickly slipped it into the book that contained the check and handed it off to the waiter in what seemed like lightning speed.

“Hey!” Yifan said, when he realized what had just happened. “I said I was going to pay.”

“How about you pay next time?” Joonmyun asked, a confident smile on his face, his eyes casting as hopeful gaze at Yifan.

“Fine, but you can’t even protest when I pay next time.” Yifan accepted Joonmyun’s offer, the smile crawling back on his face at the fact that there would be a next time.

 

\------

 

After leaving the restaurant, neither males were ready to end their night so they decided to walk around a nearby shopping strip. Stopping now and then to check out the stands. Yifan bought them both ice cream cones to enjoy as they walked around.

Coming to a stop at a bench a bit off from the main road, they sat down next to each other, close enough so their sides were touching.

“Yifan,” Joonmyun started, breaking the comfortable silence the two had settled into.

“Hmm?” Yifan hummed, finishing off his ice cream.

“I’m really glad my boys found you at the grocery store.” He smiled brightly up at Yifan, his eyes sparkling in happiness as he looked into Yifan’s smoldering ones.

“So am I, Joonmyun-ah.” Yifan smiled back, he grabbed Joonmyun’s free hand with his. “I’m so happy you agreed to come on a date with me.”

 

\------

 

Once they finished looking around the shopping district, Yifan walked Joonmyun to his car.

“I had a really good time tonight,” Joonmyun said once they reached his car.

“So did I, I’m counting down the days until our next date.” Yifan slipped out and then blushed. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

Joonmyun giggled at that, “You’re adorable.”

“Me? Adorable? Pfft, no that’s you..” Yifan responded, dropping Joonmyun’s hand to reach up and rub the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Joonmyun just shook his head and smiled, pulling his keys out of his pocket. “Well, I guess I better get going.” He unlocked his car door and reached for the door handle.

“Joonmyun-ah, wait.”  Yifan said, halting Joonmyun from opening the door, his larger hand encircling Joonmyun’s own.

The shorter male looked at their entwined hands and then up at the taller, his face showing confusion. Yifan took a deep breath and then leaned in. The younger’s eyes widened at this, his gaze flickering to the taller’s lips. Yifan halted slightly right before his lips made contact with the shorter male’s own and then he changed his mind and ended up kissing his cheek instead.

He pulled away quickly, a faint blush adorning his cheeks. “Drive safely.”

Joonmyun couldn’t help the disappointment that flashed across his face when Yifan stopped himself from kissing him. He sighed. “Don’t tell me you’re really going to let me leave here without kissing me properly?” He cocked his head to the side and placed his hands on his hips.

Yifan stuttered at that, not expecting the shorter to come out and say something but then grinned and leaned down and pecked the shorter on the lips. “Of course not.”

“That’s not a proper kiss, Yifan.” Joonmyun replied. Before Yifan could muster up a response, the shorter had reached up to wrap his arms around the taller’s neck and bring him down so he could kiss him properly, placing his lips on Yifan’s slightly plumper ones. After getting over the initial shock, the taller began to respond eagerly to the kiss, settling his hands on the smaller’s waist. Joonmyun’s tongue darted out to run against the seam of the other’s but he pulled away quickly, teasingly.

Yifan opened his eyes to see Joonmyun smilling up at him, red coloring his cheeks. He couldn’t help himself but to sneak in another innocent kiss before they pulled away. Yifan backed up so Joonmyun could get into his car and turn it on, rolling down the window as soon as he could. He motioned for the taller to lean down again and then placed another chaste kiss on his lips and then grinned. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Yifan backed away from the car so Joonmyun could drive off, his face numbing from how big his smile was. “Text me when you get home, beautiful.”

 

\------

 

Yifan and Joonmyun met up every Friday for the next two months, after that first date, the kids staying with one of their uncles each Friday. Seeing each other once a week eventually became too little so one day a week eventually turned into them getting lunch one weekday as well as their Friday dates. One day a week lunch, turned into two days a week lunch and Yifan spending Saturday’s with Joonmyun and the boys started happening four months into their relationship.

 

\------

 

One Saturday, about 7 months into their relationship, Yifan was over later than usual, having stayed to read stories to the boys before bedtime. Joonmyun was in the living room, attempting to clean up the mess the boys had made that day. Yifan snuck up behind him and wrapped his arms around the smaller’s waist, placing a kiss on the back of his neck.

Joonmyun leaned back into the touch, sighing in content. “Did the boys give you any trouble?”

Yifan shook his head, walking the two of them to the couch so they could sit. “Nope, they were great. Sehun fell asleep in Jongin’s bed so I just left him there. I can go put him in his own bed, if you want me to.”

“No, it’s fine. If you move him, he might wake up and who knows how long it’d take him to go back to bed.”

Yifan nodded at this, leaning in to kiss the younger. The kisses started out slowly and purely innocent, just a press of their lips together languidly. Joonmyun was the one to deepen the kiss, swiping his tongue across Yifan’s lips before entering the other’s mouth, his tongue exploring the other’s mouth.

They made out lazily for a bit, the kisses becoming more frantic as the time grew.  Yifan detached his lips from the younger’s, pressing kisses down the other’s jaw and continuing down until he reached  the juncture where his shoulder met his neck lightly biting, his hands finding purchase on the skin above Joonmyun’s waist.

“Yifan-ah,” Joonmyun sighed out, hand moving up to rest in Yifan’s hair.

Yifan placed a kiss to soothe the place where he had bit before pulling away. Joonmyun whined at the loss of contact.

“Why’d you do that?” The younger whined out, making grabby hands to pull Yifan back to him.

“You said you wanted to talk to me about something,” Yifan reached up to run a hand through his hair. “As much as I was enjoying that, you said it was important and I don’t want you to be upset with yourself for not bringing it up.”

Joonmyun smiled at that, placing an innocent kiss on Yifan’s lips. “Ah, right, I’m glad you remembered because I forgot.” He sat up and turned his body towards Yifan, capturing the older’s hands in his, moving around the ring that he always wore, a habit he’d picked up since they started dating.

“What is it, Joon-ah?” Yifan asked, placing a kiss to the side of the smaller’s head. “You know you can tell me anything.”

Joonmyun nodded at his words, looking up to meet his eyes briefly.  “I usually don’t tell people this, especially not this soon, but I can’t stop thinking about how I should tell you.”

“Tell me what? You’re scaring me.” Yifan rubbed his thumb across the smaller’s knuckles.

 Joonmyun took a deep breath. “The boys aren’t mine.”

Yifan’s eyebrows rose at this confession, confusion washing over his face.

“Wait, let me reword that. The boys are mine, I’m their legal guardian. And genetically, they’d look like their mine, but they aren’t _mine._ ”

The room was silent for a moment, the confusion never leaving Yifan’s face. “I don’t understand.”

“You know how I told you me and Jongdae have another brother, Joonhyung? Well, there’s a reason you’ve never met him. He’s,” he paused and took another deep breath. “He’s dead.”

Yifan immediately wrapped his arms around the smaller’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry, baby, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s been a long time, and I’ve learned to deal with it. That’s not all I want to tell you.”

Yifan’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He leaned back from the hug so he could look at Joonmyun’s face.

“Joonhyung was my twin brother. My identical twin brother. 4 years ago, I had just graduated from university with my literature degree with a minor in journalism and the whole world was my oyster. I had so many things planned out. I was going to backpack through Europe for a year and then go to grad school and there was so much I had planned. So much, Yifan. But Joonhyung was different, even though he was my twin, we couldn’t be any more different. While I was focused on school, Joonhyung was into sports. When we were 5, our parents enrolled us both in soccer. I barely lasted a season,” Joonmyun paused to chuckle at the memory.

“But Joonhyung, he stuck with it. He was so good, Yifan. He got a scholarship to this private sports focused school in Jeju when we were entering high school. He wanted to go so badly but my parents didn’t want us to be separated so they said no. That was such a bad summer in our house. Joonhyung barely talked to any of us he was so upset so eventually, our parents let him go with a promise that he’d focus on his studies as well as soccer. When he left, it was really hard on me. Despite the fact that we were so different, he was my best friend. He was my twin brother, someone who had been around ever since I’ve been on this earth. He was five minutes older than me so I would always follow him around everywhere like he was my hyung. And then I was suddenly by myself. I mean, I had Jongdae and my parents, and my friends, but it wasn’t the same. There’s this saying that only twins know what it’s like to have a bond so close.

“I treated him so bad when he left. He would call me every day but I would always find excuses to not talk to him because I was so upset with him for leaving me, even though I know that being there was what he wanted. Eventually he stopped calling and it hurt so bad. I knew it was my fault, but it felt like my brother gave up on me. One day, a couple of days before winter break, Joonhyung called me. He called me and he was crying and I felt so incredibly guilty. He apologized for leaving and he said he knew that leaving would be hard on us but he knew that going to this school would be the best for him if he wanted to go anywhere with playing and he did. And I apologized to him and cried and we made up and spent all night talking and catching up and things were finally good between us.

“He told me about this girl he met and we were only 15 then but the way he talked about her, I knew this girl would be special. And I was right. The girl’s name was Qian and she was there at the school for gymnastics. Qian came home with Joonhyung for the winter break since she was from China and it wasn’t worth going back there and from those three short weeks he was home, I could tell how in love with her he was. Like I said, we twins know things about one another that others don’t. Joonhyung and Qian stayed together throughout all of high school, and then when they graduated, Joonhyung proposed. He asked me before he asked her if I thought it was a good idea since he knew I wouldn’t lie to him. And I told him it was. I knew my brother and I knew he loved her and I knew he’d take care of her and I knew that they were perfect for each other.

“When my parents found out that Joonhyung proposed, they were livid. He was 18 and engaged and wasn’t planning to go to college. The thing was, Qian was so good at gymanastics, she could move back to her country and compet in the Olympics. Obviously, Joonhyung was one hundred percent supportive but our parents were completely against the idea of him not only not going to college, but also moving to a completely different country. So he ran away. I knew he was leaving, he told me. I didn’t want him to leave me again but I knew he needed to do this or he wouldn’t be happy so I let him go.” Joonmyun stopped, tears welling up in his eyes. Yifan pulled him into him and the smaller buried his head into the older’s chest, letting the tears fall down his face for a bit.

“Baby, you don’t have to continue this now, we can stop here.” Yifan placed a couple of kisses on the top of his head.

“No,” Joonmyun pulled away after a few moments and wiped his red, puffy eyes. “I need to tell you this.” He took another deep breath. “When he left that night,  that was the last time I saw my brother alive. When he first left, I talked to him every day. I learned that him and Qian were doing really well. He had found a job coaching little kids at a local community center and she was training for the Olympics. Finally, Qian competed. My brother wanted to fly me and Jongdae out to attend with him but our parents absolutely refused. To them, Joonhyung didn’t exist anymore. They only let me and Jongdae continue to talk to him so they could make sure he was still alive and not struggling. Qian ended up not placing but they were still so happy when I talked to them, that it seemed like they didn’t care. “Eventually, as both of our lives got busy, my brother’s and my talks dwindled from every day to once a week. Every Tuesday night, we’d both clear our schedules so we could catch up on everything. During one of these calls, two years after he had left, he told me Qian was pregnant. Yifan, he was so happy. I knew how badly he wanted a family with Qian and after everything else had fallen through for him, I was so happy he was finally getting what he wanted. Joonhyung asked me to not tell mom and dad about the baby, and it was so hard keeping it from them and Jongdae but I didn’t want to go against my brother so I kept it to myself.

“Joonhyung would send me updates after every single appointment they’d have and send me pictures of the scans and he was so excited. He’d send me pictures of every little thing they bought for the baby, it was like I was there. And then when the day finally came for the baby to come, Joonhyung called me crying. He was so nervous and he was alone and he was just so worried he was going to mess up this kid’s life. I had no idea what to do so I called my mom and told her. She took the first flight to Qingdao she could.  Joonhyung was so mad that I told mom at first but eventually, a couple of weeks after the baby was born, he called me and thanked me. Mom had already told me that the baby boy, Zitao, was healthy and had sent us all pictures but hearing my brother talk about his son was something else entirely.

“Over the course of the year, I got busier, as did Joonhyung considering that he had a baby so we didn’t talk that much but still tried to have our Tuesday talks once a week and he’d send me pictures of Zitao every single day so I didn’t miss out on much. A week or two before Tao’s first birthday, during one of our talks, Joonhyung told me Qian was pregnant again. I had planned on vising Qingdao for Tao’s birthday with my mum and knowing that I had another niece or nephew on the way made me so excited for my trip because it’d be the first time I’d see my brother in 3 years, I’d meet my nephew, and it was such a happy time. But I ended up getting into a car accident two days before I was supposed to leave for China. I was devastated. I had broken my leg in the car accident so I couldn’t fly, I was miserable for weeks after.

“Joonhyung told me it was okay and that we had the rest of our lives to see each other and just did everything in his power to make me feel better and eventually I did and I owe it all to him. When I finally got out of my cast and was able to fly again, summer was over and I was back in school so there wasn’t a way for me to take time off to visit them. One day, Joonhyung told me that mom and dad had agreed to fly him, Qian, and Zitao home for the Christmas break and you had no idea how excited I was Yifan. I was going to see my brother who I hadn’t seen in 4 years and I was going to finally meet my nephew. A couple of days before they were expected to fly out, Qian got rushed to the hospital.  Turns out, she had been carrying twins and that was what my brother was so excited to tell me when he came home. But since she was carrying twins and she was in her third trimester, she couldn’t fly. At first, they didn’t think her pregnancy was high risk, but she started having false contractions at 32 weeks and they didn’t want to take any chances.

“All of us were devastated, especially me and Joonhyung, every time one of us would attempt to visit each other something would happen. The second week of January, Jongin and Sehun were born at 35 weeks. And even better news, Joonhyung and Qian were moving back to Korea! Mom was planning to move to Qingdao to help them out with the twins but Joonhyung really wanted to come home. It was finally happening, I was finally going to be reunited with my twin brother, as well as meet my nephews. But then,” Joonmyun stopped as a sob escaped his lips. He reached his hands up to cover his eyes, attempting to stop his tears. Yifan rubbed his back in attempt to comfort him, trying to absorb all the information Joonmyun just gave to him.

Once he was finally calmed down a few moments later, Joonmyun started up the story again, his voice weaker than it was before. “Mom went down to help them move all their stuff here and we were so close. She flew here first with Zitao and I got to finally meet my nephew. He was only around 19 months then, but he was the cutest boy I had ever seen and I couldn’t believe this little boy I watched growing up through pictures and Skype was finally here in front of me. And then we got a phone call.” His voice cracked. “The cab they were taking home had crashed. The only two people who survived the crash were Sehun and Jongin and that was because they were in their car seats. Joonhyung was pronounced dead at the scene, but Qian, Qian made it to the hospital. At the hospital, she lived for 3 more days before she couldn’t anymore. The last thing she said to me was that her and Joonhyung had made me the god father and she hoped that I would love the boys as much as she knew I could. And then she told me that she and Joonhyung loved me.”

“I’m so sorry, Joon, I’m so, so sorry.” Yifan gently rocked Joonmyun back and forth as sobs wracked through the other’s body, fighting back his own tears. The two sat there, the smaller curled into the older’s lap, crying into his chest and Yifan had a couple tears falling silently down his own face, he kept reaching down to place kisses on Joonmyun’s head and rub soothing circles on his back.

Joonmyun hiccupped and wiped his eyes. “I’m sorry, Fan-ah, I told myself I wouldn’t cry.”

Yifan wiped away Joonmyun’s tears with his thumb. “Please don’t ever apologize for crying, baby. I’m so happy you were able to share that with me.”

“At first, my mom was against the idea of me adopting the boys. Like I said, I was fresh out of college, and yes their actual father was my twin brother so he was the same age but the places we were in our lives were different and he was ready for kids, I wasn’t. But I knew that Joonhyung would want me to take them in. Plus, my mom’s youngest child was 21 at the time. She shouldn’t have had to raise a toddler and two newborns. My dad was supportive of whatever decision I made. So, I decided to adopt them. I lived with my parents for the first year of the twins’ life. There was no way I would have been able to do that by myself. Luckily, I got a job almost directly out of school and I was even luckier to have a job that let me work from home. My mom didn’t want me working at first since we didn’t actually need the money and she thought I should devout my time one hundred percent to the boys, but I needed to do something.

So, a couple of months before Tao’s third birthday, I bought this house. I had been saving the money since I didn’t have to buy much of anything since I was still living with my parents but I knew I couldn’t stay there forever. They were getting older and I needed my own space if I was going to raise the boys on my own. My mother didn’t want me to leave at first; she didn’t think I’d be able to handle it by myself. And I admit, it was really, really hard. My mother was over here more often than not. But eventually, things fell into place. I love those boys more than I love myself and that’s all I really needed to get through it. And now, 4 years later, things are pretty good. I’m their dad, and biologically, since me and Joonhyung were identical, the boys look like they’re mine. So, yeah, that’s what I wanted to tell you. I understand if you want to break up with me now, I know I have a lot going on.”

“No,” Yifan stated firmly, grasping the other’s hands in his. “Don’t ever think that your story makes you undeserving of anything. Joonmyun, you are the most amazing, brave, incredible, absolutely beautiful person I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. If anything, I should be afraid of you leaving me, you’re way too good for me. You’re too good for this world. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been emotionally, physically, mentally to not only lose your brother, your best friend, but to take in 3 boys you hadn’t even met yet. You’re so perfect and I’m so lucky to have the chance of falling in love with you.”

“Yifan…” Joonmyun whispered, his eyes widening at the other’s confession.

Yifan’s cheeks flushed a bit, his brain finally catching up with his mouth. “Okay, this isn’t exactly how I planned on telling you. Or as early as I planned on telling you but it’s true. I love you, Kim Joonmyun, I’m pretty sure I’ve loved you since I first saw the way your eyes lit up when you picked up Sehun that one day in the supermarket so many months ago. I love how loving you are, both to the boys and everyone around you. You always put other’s happiness before yourself while still fighting for your own happiness. I love that every time we see an old couple when you’re out you sigh dreamingly like that’s the kind of love you want but won’t allow yourself to have. I love how you’re stern but still lenient with the boys, always putting their best interests first.

"I love how you still blush every time I give you a compliment even though I’m sure I’ve complimented you every single day since we’ve met. I love how you’ve allowed me, this tall, lanky, awkward guy who thinks he’s cool, into yours and the boys’ life and made my life a thousand times better. I love how reliable you are, dropping everything whenever anyone needs you for the tiniest things. I love that even though Jongdae, Baekhyun, and Chanyeol tease you to hell and back, they have the utmost respect for you. I love every single thing about you, Joonmyun-ah. And I could only hope I could be lucky enough to be loved back by you.”

Yifan ended his confession with a lingering kiss on Joonmyun’s lips, his thumbs automatically coming up to wipe away the tears that had begun to fall from the other’s eyes. “Aish, was my confession that bad that it brought you to tears?” He teased, sending a small smile Joonmyun’s way in attempt to get the other to smile.

Joonmyun chuckled at that, a smile edging its’ way on his face. “Shut up,” he shoved Yifan on the shoulder softly but kept his hand there. “I love you too, idiot. I love you so much. I’ve love you more than I ever thought I would be able to love another person.”

Yifan grinned at that, his eyes crinkling and his gums on full display. Joonmyun’s smile was just as bright as they sat there in comfortable silence, letting each other’s confessions wash over them.

“I really want to kiss you right now.”

“Then why don’t you?”

And Yifan did just that.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, that's it lol. I'm planning on posting a drabble series associated with this verse so be on the look out for that. 
> 
> Feel free to follow me on tumblr or [twitter](http://twitter.com/joinmymisery) so we can flail about krisho together!


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